working out

When I got an email about “Asana and Architecture”, a monthly yoga class held at the National Building Museum, I couldn’t resist. Washington, D.C. routinely scores as one of America’s fittest cities – we like our workouts. It’s also a city that is teeming with museums. And full of nerds like me that wouldn’t mind combining the two.

Beth A. Wolfe, the instructor behind kitten yoga and goat yoga, led us through an energizing all-levels class in the light-drenched great hall of the museum. There were plenty of modifications for both beginner and expert yogis, and the only pose I had to worry about was savasana. Because I had a hard time keeping my eyes closed. Because look at this place!

If you’re in the DC area, or plan to visit soon, you’re in luck! The aptly-named “Asana and Architecture” is a monthly shindig and it includes a tour of the museum! Check out the building museum’s calendar for more info.

Field Note: Asana and Architecture was last modified: February 3rd, 2018 by LNWC

Looking at joining a cycling class, but not sure where to start? Here are a few answers to questions I had in the beginning. Hope they help you as well!

Cycling looks hard. I’m new to exercise/group classes/exercise involving equipment/bikes without training wheels. Is it as bad as it looks?Cycling was one of the first group fitness classes that hooked me on regular workouts. This seems counterintuitive, because the image of an indoor cycling class tends to be one of extremely fit cardio junkies that can pedal to the moon and back and still have a conversation with you.

Let me bust that myth right there – cycling got me, an overweight, shy, exercise newbie, to come more than once a week. I eventually even bought my own cycle shoes.

Yes, the first time I tried it, I knew it was a killer workout, but it was also very scaleable for my level of fitness. Which was nada.

At that point in time I had no regular workout routine and was carrying quite a bit of extra weight. Usually, I would try doing my own thing at the gym, but would get bored and give up. Cycling, however, has quite a few perks for the exercise newbie:

You control your own resistance via a dial on the bike, and no one can see what your resistance is at. If you tend to be worried about what other people think when you’re at the gym, and no amount of your friends’ assurances that “no one is looking at you!!” can calm your anxieties, then this is a good workout for you. To be fair, I’ve felt that anxiety as well – but really, no one is looking at you.

BECAUSE everyone faces forward and controls their own resistance on the bike, you can take it easy and not kill yourself the first class. This important, because if you don’t pace yourself and go all out the first time out of the gate – you’re probably not going to have a good time. And having a good time will bring you back. The amount of tension/resistance your instructor prompts you to put on is a suggestion. Especially the first few classes, don’t feel like you need to take every queue – enjoy the music, work at your 80%, and get the feel for the mechanics of class.

Classes always have the same thing in common – upbeat music, upbeat instructors, and once the warmup is over… upbeat riders 🙂 I’ve given and received high fives in class. It seems silly outside of class, but there really is something about a killer cycling playlist that will put you in a great mood.

The music tends to be really loud, so no one can hear you breathing heavily/cursing. JK… sort of… not really.

How do I set up the bike? What height should my seat be? What does this button do?Ask your instructor for help. That’s not a punchline – it’s really important you see your instructor before your first class to get a lay of the land. They can help you with your first setup – and if one of the settings doesn’t feel quite right, you can adjust from there.

When I started, it felt like the seat was up too high at first. Generally, you want the top of the seat to line up with your hip bone. As I took a few classes, however, it started to feel really natural. Don’t worry if it feels high at first.

Explain the cycle shoe thing to me.Most cycling studios will want you to “clip in” and will let you rent shoes. Using these shoes, as opposed to the “cage” style pedals that wrap around the front of your tennis shoes, will keep your feet more secure and allow you to keep contact with the pedal through the whole stroke.

When you first put them on, keep in mind two things:

The clips on the bottom of the shoes protrude, so get ready to walk a little funny.

If you need to go to the bathroom, get water, or generally do more than walk from the locker room to the studio, you may want to hold off on putting them on. They click-clack like a mother and make you walk kinda funny.

These shoes are usually Look/Delta or SPD clips, that attach directly to the pedals. Look/Delta, in my experience, tends to be easier for beginners. SPD clips can be tricky to get into place sometimes – I got the hang of it once someone described the motion to get them to click into the pedal as “squishing a bug with your foot”. Basically, if you align your foot with the pedal and slowly move the ball of your foot back and forth, it will fall into place. To remove the shoe, just turn your heel outward. Or… just undo the straps on your shoes and step off the bike. You won’t be the first, you won’t be the last, again, no one is judging you in this class, because we’ve all been there.

OW. What in the flubbity shiplap happened to my butt?I’m not going to sugar coat it – it’s very likely your tush is going to hurt after a full class, especially if you haven’t ridden a bike in a while. It’s possible that a few pre-class pointers on how to properly sit in the saddle will relieve some of the issues – but for the most part, once you tough it out past the first few classes, it’s a non-issue. If that proves not to be the case for you – there are gel-seats available that you can put over your seat.

So there you have it! This should get you started, but don’t hesitate to ask questions the first time you go. I made the mistake of not asking for help a few times – and I felt so much better once an instructor gave me some pointers. I’ve never in my life met an instructor that wasn’t thrilled to help. And remember have fun!!

Obvious disclaimer: If you’ve never exercised in your life or have an injury/or generally just a gut feeling, get your adulting badge and go see your doctor first. Yay good sense 🙂

This weekend I ran a 5k, and did a little dance afterward. I didn’t care at all how silly I looked. Two years ago, I had to mostly walk my first 5k. I was excited to finish at all. This time I crushed it. I only run sporadically and I was able to finish with a respectable 11 minute mile average. I’m not going to win any races, but I can run said races easily, and… for FUN. What?! How did I get here?

March 2016: I’m feeling pretty miserable about myself. I’ve spent years trying to diet/start working out, only to go back to binge eating.

September 2017: I’m PROUD of what my body can do. I can lift heavy shit. I can run a mile in 10 minutes. I actually look forward to trying new things like parkour and rock climbing.

What finally made the difference after years of yo-yo dieting and barely-touched gym memberships? Mostly, I adjusted my attitude. I’d just signed up for Classpass, and after trying a few different group classes, made an interesting discovery. I was having… fun. I actually enjoyed seeing the progress I made between classes, and it had nothing to do with my weight, it was instead the strength that I was gaining.

I didn’t have to be a certain size to be proud of what my body can do. So I kept plugging along. Sometimes I ate well, other days I didn’t. But I didn’t throw my hands up in the air and quit, because I wasn’t giving myself an arbitrary “lose X by Y date ” goal. One day didn’t derail everything. I just stuck with my fun classes and… over time, the weight just started to come off. I wanted to eat better because it helped my performance. I wanted to keep working out because I felt stronger.

I still have a ways to go, but if you’re looking to get healthier, I do have a few suggestions:

Weight isn’t a good indicator of your progress. Focus on how you FEEL.

Sure, if you’re overweight like me, you want to see that number go down. But that number isn’t everything. I finally started losing weight when I said “eff it” after eating too few calories/working out and not seeing much progress. After a few months, you know what? I lost weight. Funny how that works.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t track calories or weight or anything else you please – but focus more on how your body feels. When I started being able to finish a spin class without feeling like I’d fall over gasping for a breath, that felt pretty darn good. Heck, being able to clip in cycle shoes properly without falling over felt pretty cool too, and that has nothing do with cardio 😀

Don’t get caught up in what other people are doing. Find what you like doing and stick with it.

Like everyone, I’ve heard a lot of “tips” for losing weight over the years. Some of them are good. Some of them are bad. Some of them are downright contradictory. The fact is, everyones’ lifestyles, let alone their bodies, are different. Getting healthy isn’t one size fits all. Sure, you should eat more whole foods. You should be active. But…

After that, you just need to find what works for you. You’re going to stick to what makes you feel good. For me, that’s finding fun ways to work out that change every day. Currently I’m working out at Madabolic, which focuses on interval training for strength and endurance. Every workout is different, which for me, is key.

Stop setting a goal date and take it day by day.

While having a goal is really great for most things, I think saying “I want to be X weight by X date is really counterproductive when it comes to making a lifestyle change/getting healthier. It focuses too heavily on numbers, and it makes it too easy to feel like a failure when you “mess up”, or as I like to say, when you’re human.

Working out is now something I do because I like how it makes me feel, and how it changes my body – not because it moves the scale. This change in thinking is what finally made all the difference for me.

1200 calories a day is not the be all end all. We’re all different.

This isn’t a doctor’s advice, obviously, but… if you’re dreaming about your next meal or binging after eating at 1200 for a week, you might want to try upping your intake. On the topic of numbers, the “2 pounds a week” guideline is also just that – a guideline. Of course we all want to make progress ASAP, but sometimes slower is better because you can actually stick to it without feeling deprived.

You’re awesome, treat yourself that way.

How are you taking care of yourself lately? Are you focusing on the changes you’re making, or the mistakes you’ve made in the past?

We often talk about fitness in terms of weight, size, and strength, but your mental health is important too. If you constantly feed yourself negative thoughts, you’re going to weigh yourself down in more ways than one.

Take it day by day – you got this!

Weight isn’t a good indicator of your progress. Finish-line jigs, however… was last modified: October 1st, 2017 by LNWC

About Me

LNWC, the Sampler

When I was little I wanted to be a ballerina. And White House Press Secretary. Maybe a vet. And an Architect...
Turns out I became a graphic designer, but I still like to know a little about everything. This is why my family jokingly calls me "the sampler", a nickname I have embraced.
So... here's an account of the random adventures, hobbies, travels, obsessions, lessons, etc.